Gentle Power

A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu

By: Emilia Elisabet Lahti

Narrated by: Emilia Elisabet Lahti

A guide for the evolution of everyday leadership based on the Finnish science of sisu—from a leading researcher and teacher on the topic.

Power is fundamental in our lives—we express it in every conversation, relationship, and choice we make. All too often, we equate force and domination with power, while gentleness and compassion are considered “soft” or “weak.” The destructive nature of this skewed perspective has never been more obvious, yet there is reason to hope. With Gentle Power, Dr. Emilia Elisabet Lahti shares an illuminating guide to an emerging shift in the way we define true strength—an approach that balances resolve with reason, grit with compassion, and personal success with service to the collective good.

Lahti uses the concept of sisu, a central philosophy native to Finland, as the foundation for her investigation of gentle power. “At its best,” she says, “sisu is a harmonious approach to life itself, specifically in how we make decisions, relate to one another, and navigate times of crisis and peace.” Drawing from sisu—as well as aikido, Taoism, neuroscience, systems intelligence, and more—she shares an evidence-based approach to help you transform the way you manifest power. Join her to explore:

• Sisu—its history, its shadow, and the rising global interest in this profound philosophy

• Leadership and power—why toxic myths of power persist, and how we can dismantle them

• The paradox of gentleness—how inner resilience and true influence arise from vulnerability, empathy, and love

• Self-care—why gentle power begins with the way we treat ourselves

To understand power is to realize that leadership is not just for some selected minority—we are all leaders whose choices impact those around us. “Each of us can play a vital role in the collective transformation that the world is calling for,” Lahti shares. “It all starts in our own heart, in our own gentle power.” Here you’ll discover a path of wisdom, resilience, and compassionate strength that will elevate your life—and uplift others to take part in a new revolution of human empowerment.

©2023 Emilia Elisabet Lahti (P)2023 Sounds True

Critic reviews

“Nobody has taught me more about sisu than Emilia Elisabet Lahti. In this beautiful book, Elisabet shows us how strength and toughness are not the same thing. A much-needed antidote to the myth of mind over matter, and a touching, honest story of one woman’s journey to discover the true origins of grit and fulfillment.”—Angela Duckworth, PhD, MacArthur Fellow, Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and New York Times bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

“This captivating and heartfelt book invites readers on a compelling journey to their fullest expression of power and leadership.”—Emma Seppälä, PhD, Yale School of Management, author of The Happiness Track

“A beautiful book written by one of the most important voices in positive psychology. Part balm and part rallying call, this book is a deep well for the weary positive champions who are searching for a way to transform the lives of others and to discover a more powerful path to an empowered, connected, and hopeful world.”—Shawn Achor, New York Times bestselling author of Big Potential and The Happiness Advantage

More Gentleness

Narration was great. This is a great guide for adding a little more gentleness to your life, work, exercise, eating, sleeping… I recommend it.

A must read for all leaders

We are all leaders—we can lead through domination and force or through gentle power that is so beautifully defined in this book.

Good One

I had my eye on the writer and the concept of Sisu for a long time. Gentle Power is all the world needs to tap into right now. I found the inner work she did to be valuable, and was inspired by her referral to authentic relating. This book gave me some good resources to tap into on my journey towards personal leadership. However, as I listened to it after finishing Atomic Habits, my mind was looking for the simple, repeating directions on how to build and sustain this gentle power. Sisu in action would be a good follow up with less emphasis on why we need gentle power, but how to build, maintain and sustain it through journal prompts, building the sadhana (self practice) as a discipline, or any other tools the writer has from her positive psychology degree that will help people on their way to self realization and discovery.

Dreadfully boring

Forget this. Too much fluff. I don’t believe a better performance would’ve helped. If you want to know about Sisu, perform a Google search and go from there. Spend five minutes reading Wikipedia.